Truth Will Tell...

Welcome to the Thursday edition, fresh from the coffee cup, where common sense prevails, and where I'm probably gonna be saying a lot of what YOU were thinking...but that's fine...in THAT, there is consensus.
*** First up, the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"The art of defending fortified places consists of putting off the moment of their reduction."
This was said by that wonderful PRUSSIAN king (and not Russian as some WIVES tend to say...lol) from the Hohenzollern (try saying THAT 3 times fast) dynasty....FREDERICK THE GREAT, Instructions to His Generals, 1747, tr. Philips, 1940.
And, as anticipated, here is HIS WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_the_Great

Now, he wasn't a bad-looking boy, but CRIPES,...as he got older, WOW, did he get nasty-looking!

Wonder how much he used to charge to haunt a damn castle?
I mean, he's "got the look".
(( WARNING - EDUCATIONAL ALERT. You MIGHT learn something! ))
Ever notice that back in THOSE days (and even long before that), there were a lot more GREAT people...like Freddie here...and Peter (now he WAS from Russia) Ivan (another Russian), Cyrus (of Persia), Alexander (from Macedon), Ashoka (Indian from the sub-continent)...

In fact, there's a whole sh*tload of them, as can be found HERE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_known_as_The_Great

Imagine that...not one damn BOB in the bunch...I mean WTH is up with that?

The closest I could find was Robert the BRUCE...not Great, not Kinda Interesting, or even sorta Nice To Small Pets and Horses...but "BRUCE"?

(( rolls eyes ))

Guess I'll have to settle for my "own" version -  

Robert, the Highly Agitated?

Gotta kinda poetry to it.

Moving on...

*** Next on the agenda....I purposely held off on mentioning this back on Monday, just to see how much attention it would get by others, and not necessarily by my fellow "bloggers-in-crime"...

THIS week is NATIONAL POLICE WEEK (and it's more than half over).
How many of YOU knew that, and did you wonder as I did WHY it got little if ANY coverage in the media?
I was rather set back by the LACK of coverage it received.
Personally, it SHOULD be acknowledged a LOT more, because those brave boys and girls in blue out there in the thick of things along our streets, roads and highways DESERVE recognition, for they certainly NEVER ask for any...they just "do the job".
Here's the official website:
http://www.nleomf.com/programs/policeweek/
And this site:
http://www.nationalpoliceweek.com/
The only exception I take with the site in general is having that picture of Eric Holder on that first web address...
That pretty much curdles the cream in my coffee, if you catch my drift!
He's a hack, plain and simple, and (imho) has no reason to be included on that site.

It's not about HIM anyway...it's about those that put their LIVES on the damn line every single day, so we can ALL feel safer in our homes and on our streets. Sorry, but I don't care if he IS the Attorney General of the USA...we can do MUCH better (and should).
But, let's not let that diminish the task set before our LEOS out there, which often times, seems insurmountable.
Let's instead take a moment to "thank a cop" this week whenever we see one. Let THEM know that WE know and appreciate all they do.
*** An update to the shooting on the 4600 block of Spatz last weekend that left one dead, and one wounded.
They FINALLY released the name of the victim.
Here's the story:
http://journalgazette.net/article/20120517/LOCAL07/305179987

I did a lookup on the man, and didn't really find anything of note...if he's the same David Wilson, Jr. I think he is, he only has a "fishing w/o a license" infraction (if that)...nothing else. All the other Wilsons are in different counties and male whites.
A clean record, so he's not a "playa"...ditto for the woman wounded...nothing on the rap sheets (unless she has priors in Michigan, where she was from), And the third person in the car...a couple public intox misdemeanors. Darnell Hopkins didn't even live near Spatz.
So, this begs the question:
'"WHY were these three shot at in the first place?"

Was it the CAR that was mistaken for another?
Perhaps.
Is it a "turf war" that doesn't "allow" outsiders to drive through the neighborhood?
Could be that, too.
Was it some sort of domestic between someone in the car and others on the street?
Always a possibility.
With ALL the gun play that took place, something serious was going down, and NO evidence of ANY firearm was found in or at the victim's car.
Just some people "having fun"?
Around HERE...that can ALWAYS be a viable conclusion.
Love to see forensics lift a print off a casing and track it back to the shooter. I would like to see this shooting resolved, if for no other reason than to have the city take notice that there is a huge problem down here, and then enact the measures I have mentioned here this week to put an END to it.
*** Seems the Komets are changing leagues...AGAIN!
Here's the story:
http://journalgazette.net/article/20120517/SPORTS0601/305179995/1008/SPORTS

Now, either the Komets want another different TROPHY to win (a good thing), or they're just plain THAT GOOD as a team...consistently (another good thing). Travel time throughout the ECHL would be less than is now the case (in the CHL).
The Komets have changed leagues FOUR times since I moved here, and that was back in 1997.
I say...go for it...another trophy always looks good in the display case.
(hint, hint...get a bigger case)
*** If you're like me (and Lord knows WHY you would ever WANT to be, especially on a MONDAY...lol), you're thinking about those veggies to put in your garden. I've already got the tomatoes and cayenne ready to rock n roll in ours...among other items.

I like the cayenne because they dry out well, and when crushed make a great add-on to (what else?)...PIZZA!

The tomatoes I chose this year are cherry tomatoes...go great in salads, slice up well enough for sandwiches (especially BACON sandwiches), and you can always just pop 'em in your mouth.

Try doing THAT with say...a BEEFSTEAK...ain't gonna go over too swift (and it's messy as hell).

Naturally, we have dill, and sage, and oregano, and thyme also.
Perhaps I should grow some wheat (for flour) and then snag some yeast and make my own pizzas.
Oh, wait...gonna need an OLIVE tree then...for the OIL and well as the "fruit"...okay, forget that idea...I don't live in Greece or along the Sinai.
Anyway, NOW is the time for all good vegetables to come to the "aid" of their fellow garden mates..and the people planting them.
That means get them planted so you can sit back and let nature do HER job until harvest time (yum).
*** Lastly today, we live in an era of excess....plenty to go around. America has pretty much enjoyed that claim over the years.

But these days, we also live in a time of frugality, and with good reasons.
--Our own DOLLAR isn't worth near what it's supposed to be worth.
--Our government has given much of "the farm" away over the last several decades due to "entitlements".
--Our country has shipped way too many jobs overseas, displacing GOOD workers.
--Our nation has often tried to be the world's provider at the cost of it's own people
--Our government has over-regulated, over-legislated, and over-burdened those who pay the wages OF the government.
--Our government thinks you CAN spend your way out of debt.
All of US know different and see the FACTS...and try to do what WE can to prevent our families from succumbing to such things.

There are many other problems facing us, but the biggest one is that damn spending jag the government has had for way too long.
THAT has to be reigned in...ASAP.
Otherwise, we will be less than a shadow of the former greatness that made this nation, and supported it all this time.
Here's an instance where the phrase "THE GREAT" should once again apply to THIS COUNTRY.
Obviously, we're not AS "great" as we used to be, but does that mean we can't climb back up TO the pinnacle this nation held proudly?

No, it doesn't...and YES...we CAN, if we're willing to work at it, and stick to those principles and values we KNOW are right and just.

And THAT is food for though...from the garden of the highly possible.
Eat hearty.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.